Evaporator.



J. E. DUNN.

EVAPORATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED MAIL16, 1910.

Patented Sept. 27, 1910.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

WITNESSES:

(AWE/V706 (4,8 06 5 0mm dawn. m

' taining the tubes,

lecte UN TED STATES.) PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. DUNN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN EVAPORATOB COMPANY, 01' PENNSYLVANIA.

Tooll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErH E; DUNN, a British subject, residing at Philadelphia in the countyof Philadelphia and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Eva orators, of which the following is a speci cation.

y invention relates to evaporating apparatus designed particularly for concentratingl'liquids. In its preferred construction it com rises a generating element having tubes or effecting the clrclilation of a liquid to be heated, a heating chamber conand a vapor and liquid chamber'in which the fluid disom the generating tubes is colin combination with an evaporating element having vertical tubes extending through a heatln chamber connected with the heating cham er ofthe generating element, a pressure chamber containing a distributing device dividing it into a lower compartment connected with the liquid space ofva separating chamber and an upper separatin char ed compartment connected above the lower ends of the corresponding evaporating tubes with the, vapor space of the separating chamber, and a separating chamber containing an adjustable separatin Imechanism to which fluid is discharge by the vertical tubes. Several sets of elements of this character may be used in series for the urpose of obtainin multiple effects, the eating chamber 0 an evaporating element discharging to the heating chamber of a succeeding generating element, the vapor space of the separating chamber of an evaporating element discharging to the heating chamber of a succeeding eva orating element, and the liquid space of tiie separating chamber of an evaporating element discharging to the liquid space of a succeeding generating. element.

The object of my invention is to improve the operations and results obtained in evaporators wherein a body of heated liquid is supplied to the base of externally heated tu s and evaporation is effected by inducing the flow of a liquid film-upwardly through these tubes. It is in purpose to supply heated liquid below and vapor above the ower ends of the evaporating tubes extending into the liquid, at different levels in the chamber containing the tube ends, to

- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 16, 1910. Serial No.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A conronarron or EVAPORATOR.

provide a body of vapor which is fed by pressure or suction to the tubes and 'entrains liquid films, which are vaporized in flowing upwardly in contact the tubes. Further purposes are to effect I an even feed of liquid to the several tubes andan eificient separation of the liquid from the vapor delivered therefrom.

The characteristic construction and functions of my apparatus are disclosed in the following description and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken on the line- AA of Fig. 1; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view representing details of construction of a separating chamber; Fig. 3 is an inverted view of the hood having spiral blades for effecting the circulation of the fluids in the separating chamber; and Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation representing a modification of the construction.

The apparatus, as represented in Figs. 1 to 3 inc usive, comprises a primary generator having a horizontal shell 1, horizontal tubes 2 contained in the shell, a header 3 connecting the rear ends of the tubes, a header 4 connecting the forward ends of the tubes and a reservoir or separating chamber 5 connected with the header 4. The shell 1 contains a battle 1 and the header 4 contains a partition 4 forming compartments 4" and 4. A heating medium, as exhaust steam, supplied by a conduit 6 and admitted to the shell 1 by a conduit 7, is circulated along the generator tubes by means of the battle 1'. Liquid to be evaporated is admitted to the lower compartment 4 of the header 4 by the conduit 8, flows throughthe lower tubes 2 to ,the header 3,

thence through the up r tubes to the upper compartment 4 of t e header 4, and r ses in the reservoir '5 where the vapor separates from the liquid, rising to the top of the reservoir.

A vertical shell 10, into which the conduit 7 discharges steam, contains the vertical evaporating tubes 11 having lower ends extending into a ressure chamber 12 and uper ends exten ing into a se arating chamer 13, the pressure chamber eing separated from the interior of the shell by the tube Patented Sept. 27, 1910;

wlth the walls of sheet 14 and the separating chamber being separated from the interior of the shell by the tube sheet 15. The chamber 12 contains the perforated baffle or distributing plate 16 located below the inclined openings or beveled lower ends of the tubes and dividing it into a lower compartment 12 and an upper compartment 12 which communicate through the perforations, the two com artments being connected by a sight gage 1 A conduit 18 connects the liquid space of the reservoir 5 with the lower compartment of the chamber 12 and a conduit 19 connects the upper or vapor space of the reservoir with the upper compartment of the chamber 12, above the inlets of the tubes in the upper compartment, liquid flowing from the reservoir through the conduit 18 to the lower compartment and vapor flowing from the upper compartment of the reservoir to the upper compartment of the chamber. It will be understood that the liquid level is maintained in the pressure chamber slightly above the inlets to the tubes and that the,

baffle plate effects an even distribution of the1 liquid to the space containing the tube en s.

A conical nozzle or baffle 201s fixed to the interior of the base of the separating chamber 13 and surrounds the outlets from the tubes 11. A conical sheet 21 extends outwardly and downwardly from the contracted upper end of the part 20, and a sheet 22 connects the parts 21 and 20, forming the chamber 23. A vertically movable hood 24,

having the downwardly extending conical central portion 25, is placed above the nozzle and is provided with spiral blades 26 which fit in and are adapted to be moved through corresponding slots 27 formed in the sheet 21. The chamber 23 is filled by liquid, entering from the channels 26 through the slots 27, after which these currents flowing through the gradually contracting spiral channels are not disturbed by further leakage through the slots, and the desired regulation of the velocity of flow, increasing from the inlet to the outlet of the channels, can be obtained. A vertical shaft 28 is connected with the part 29 of the hood and passes through a bearing 30 at the top of the separating chamber; and a wheel 31 screws on the rod while engaging the bearing, whereby the elevation of the hood can be Varied to vary the pressure communicated to the tubes and to regulate the velocity of flow through the spiral channels.

A secondary generating element, similar to the primary element, is heated by the heating fluid discharged from the shell 10, which is conveyed, through the conduit 33, to the interior of the secondary element's shell l Liquid concentrated in the chamber 13 is discharged through the conduit 34 to the lower compartment of the header 4,

whence it flows through the tubes 2 to the upper compartment of this header, and is delivered in the form of liquid and vapor to the separating reservoir 5.

A secondary evaporating element, similar to the primary evaporating element, has the liquid space of its pressure chamber 12 connected with the liquid space of the reser- Voir 5 by the conduit 18 and the vapor space of this chamber is connected with the vapor space of this reservoir by the conduit 19*, this pressure chamber being similar in construction and connections to the chamber 12.

A conduit 35 connects the upper or vapor space of the chamber 13 with the interior of the shell 10, by which the secondary element is heated.

In like manner to the primary evaporating element, the secondary evaporating element discharges a heating medium from its chamber 10 by the conduit 33 to the heating space within the shell 1 ofa tertiary generating element; liquid is discharged from the bottom of the separating chamber 13' by the conduit 34* to the header 4 of a generator, and liquid and vapor are discharged from the header 4 to the reservoir 5*. Conduits 18 and 19 carry liquid and vapor from the reservoir 5 to the liquid and vapor spaces of the pressure chamber 12 of a third evaporating element, vapor is carried from the chamber 13 by the conduit 35 to the chamber 10, and concentrated liquid collected in the chamber 13 is discharged through the conduit 34 to the receiving tank 36.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 4, the conduit 34, which carries liquid from the separating chamber 13, discharges directly to the bottom of the reservoir 5, the bottom of the reservoir being connected by the conduit 18 with the lower compartment of the pressure chamber 12 and the top of the reservoir being connected by the conduit 19 with the vapor space of this pressure chamber.

In operation, the liquid heated and the vapor produced in the primary generator are separated and carried separately to the liquid and vapor spaces of the primary pressure chamber, whence the vapor with entrained liquid flows upwardly through the primary evaporating tubes, the liquid being distributed by means of the perforated baflle plate of the pressure chamber beneath the vertical tubes and the pressure being re ulated by the hood above the tubes, to e ect the desired flow through the several tubes, at the desired rate for eflicient operation. The adjustability of the hood, whereby the cross sectional area of the channels 26 is varied, permits the pressure in the tubes and the volume of vapor flowing therethrough to be regulated. The spiral direcwith the lower ends of said tubes,

tion given to the vapor and liquid discharged from the evaporating tubes to the separating chamber of the evaporating element facilitates the separation of the vapor and liquid. which are separately conveyed to the second and further effects. wherein further separation of vapor is effected and the liquid further concentrated.

Having described my invention. I claim:

1. An evaporating element having a pressure chamber and vertical tubes extending into said chamber, in combination with means for separating vapor from liquid and delivering it to said pressure chamber above the inlets to said tubes. and means for conveying liquid from which said vapor is separated to said pressure chamber below the inlets to said tubes.

2. An evaporating element having a pressure chamber, a perforated diaphragm in said chamber, and vertical tubes having ends extending into said chamber, said tubes having inlets above said diaphragm, in combination with means for heating a liquid. means for separating vapor from the heated liquid and delivering it to said chamber above said diaphragm, and means for delivering said heated liquid to said chamber beneath said diaphragm.

3. An evaporating element comprising a set of substantially vertical tubes, a heating chamber through which said tubes pass, a pressure chamber with which said tubes communicate, a separating chamber with which said tubes communicate, and adjustable mechanism in said separating chamber adapted for regulating the flow through said tubes of liquid and vapor from said pressure chamber.

4. An evaporating element comprising a heating chamber, a set of substantially vertical tubes extending through said heating chamber, a pressure chamber communicating with the lower ends of said tubes, a separating chamber with which the upper ends of said tubes communicate, and mechanism in said separating chamber for dividing and imparting a rotary movement to liquid and vapor delivered by said tubes, said mechanism comprising channels and means whereby the cross sectional areas of said channels can be Varied.

5. An evaporating element comprising a heating chamber, a set of substantlally vertical tubes extending through said heating chamber, a pressure chamber communicating a separating chamber withwhich the upper ends of said tubes communicate, and adjustable mechanism in said separating chamber which divides and gives a rotary motion to liquid and vapor delivered from said tubes, said mechanism comprising a set of spiral blades and a sealing chamber having a sheet containing spiral slots through which said blades are movable.

6. I11 an evaporator, a heating chamber. a set of tubes extending through said chamber, a separating chamber adapted for collecting vapor delivered from said tubes. a second heating chamber, a set of substantially vertical tubes extending through said second heating chamber, a pressure chamber into which the lower ends of said second set of tubes extend. a conduit for connecting the vapor space of said separating chamber with said pressure chamber above the level of the inlets to the tubes extending thereinto. and a conduit for conveying liquid delivered from said first named tubes to said pressure chamber below the inlets to the tubes extending thereinto.

7. In anevaporator, a heating chamber, a setof tubes extending through said chamber, a separating chamber adapted for collecting liquid and vapor delivered from said tubes, a second heating chamber. a set of substantially vertical tubes extending through said second chamber, a pressure chamber communicating with the lower ends of said second set of tubes. :1 separating chamber to which said second set of tubes deliver, a conduit for connecting the vapor space of said first named separating chamber with the upper part of said pressure chamber, a conduit for connecting the liquid space of said first named sepafiating chamber with the lower part. of said pressure chamber, a third heating chamber, a set of substantially "ertical tubes extending through said third heating chamber. a conduit for conveying a heating medium from said second separating chamber to said third heating chamber. a pressure chamber communicating with the inlets to said last named tubes, a third separating chamber. means for connecting said second separating chamber with said third sepa 'ating chamber. means connecting the vapor space of said third separating chamber with the upper part of said second pressure chamber, and means for connecting the liquid space of said third separating chamber with the lower partof said second pressure chamber.

8. In an evaporator. a heating chamber, a set of substantially vertical tubes extending through said chamber, a pressure chamber communicatingwith said tubes, a separating chamber with which said tubes communicate, and means in said separating chamber for regulating the pressure in said tubes.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my name this fifteenth day of March, 1910, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH E. DUNN. \Vitnesses ROBERT J .ums EARLEY, Jos. G. DENNY, Jr. 

